“Tell people to bring their whiskey dancing boots.” That’s Elliott Brood’s Casey Laforet’s advice for anyone planning to attend his band’s show tonight at The Grad Club. “It’s going to be a good time.”
Speaking with the Journal via telephone from the geography company where he works as a cartographer, the guitar player for Elliott Brood—the name of the band, not a solo artist—is “kind of bored,” friendly and chatty.
“I actually gave my notice last week. And Mark [Sasso], the singer, his last day is today, so we’re kind of making our 2006 push so that this is kind of the year we’re going to give it a hundred per cent and see what happens.”
Elliott Brood had an impressive 2005. They released their first full-length album, Ambassador, which was recorded over three days in an old slaughterhouse. The dance floor-friendly disc full of dust-in-your-teeth country haunted by the ghosts of history and the drinking problems of troubadours past met with nearly universal critical acclaim. By combining it with a physical live show and intensive touring, the band raised their profile enough to spend several weeks in the top ten of CBC Radio’s The National Playlist with “The Bridge.” They also played a well-attended European tour and received the opportunity to open for Blue Rodeo—causing a last-minute cancellation of their Kingston date in October.
“The Blue Rodeo thing, at the time, was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in, like, a hockey rink and open up for them … And really the fans were great, the reception we got was incredible, so we’re really happy about that,” Laforet said.
Blue Rodeo is a great model of a successful Canadian band, he said, adding that he ires the band’s ability to keep a fan base by touring small town across Canada. … Which is kinda what we want to keep doing, smaller places where music fans kinda get overlooked a lot. Cancellations like the one in Kingston [are], you know, not the way to do that, and we plan to make up for that this week.”
Concert-goers weary of the same old rock show can expect something different when Elliott Brood blows through town. Drummer Steve Pitkin—whom you may recognize from The Flashing Lights—plays a suitcase instead of a bass drum, Laforet plays bass with his feet using a pedal set, and your fun is taken seriously.
“We kind of have a physical show. I mean, there’s a lot of whiskey involved. But we really like to get the crowd into it, either if that’s by talking to them a lot or we crack a lot of jokes and have a good time or if it takes me jumping out into the crowd and dancing with people, I’ll do that … and that’s why I think our live show is kind of different, we kind of break down the wall … and make it kind of just like a party, you know? … Recordings come secondary, because the moment of seeing a really good band playing at their peak is—that’s the kind of thing that’s really special to me.”
Elliott Brood aren’t alone in enjoying some measure of success as Canadians playing roots-influenced music, complete with banjo; bands like The Fembots and Cuff The Duke have also found a warm reception, even among predominantly urban audiences.
“One time we were playing at a bar in Toronto and a guy called us ‘urban hillbilly’ … It’s almost like there’s a revival of this kind of music, or derivative of what old folk and country was kind of about … Maybe it’s because it’s new to them or something, or they need a change, I’m not sure what it is. But it’s definitely looking good. It’s catching on, I think.”
Originally from Windsor, Laforet lived in a cottage outside of Lindsay, Ontario, for two years before moving to Toronto.
“I never ever used to listen to anything that was remotely countryish, let alone banjo music, at all. And I mean, living in the cottage, at that point in my life, I don’t know if it’s because of where I lived or kind of where I was and my musical tastes, that’s when the Neil Youngs and Bob Dylans crept in a bit more, because when you’re sitting around a campfire, you’re not listening to heavy metal. Or we weren’t, anyways. And that’s where I kind of got into that mood of stuff.”
The band has received attention through the carefully-crafted packaging of their releases. The artwork of Ambassador—whose title refers to Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit—includes clues about the songs’ meanings.
“I think different, kind of homemade packaging and really attractive artwork is important because a lot of people still like to own nice-looking things, like, the old album aesthetics. Like, if you got an LP, you get all this stuff with it. It’s almost like a big book, you open it up … I mean, if you our music, that’s fine, go for it, but you’re going to be missing out on what we consider to be half of the beauty of it, which is the artwork that goes along with it and helps tell the stories of the music that’s inside it.”
Laforet defines success for the band as “being able to do it just as a job, I guess, where I can pay my rent and we can all just basically live at the level we’re at now,” but has noticed other signs of accomplishment.
“I did get a bra thrown on stage, which is a first. Is that considered a sign of success in rock and roll music, is getting an undergarment tossed on? At our CD release, some girl threw a bra at us, and I thought, ‘This has to be a first for a country show.’”
If you’re feeling lucky on Friday the 13th, you can throw your bra at Elliott Brood or opener Geoff Berner at The Grad Club for $10 in advance—tickets available at Destinations or The Grad Club—or $12 at the door.
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